Read Online Belle of the ball by Donna Lea Simpson - Free Book Online
Authors: Donna Lea Simpson
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ever done for you that you are now responsible for her?"
There was a fierceness in her friend’s voice. Startled,she gazed into Eve's blue eyes and said, "What. . . what do you mean?"
"I mean, why is it up to you to repair the family fortune when it was not you who lost it but your parents? Does it not seem unfair to you? How can you go like a lamb to the slaughter?" Eveleen waved a fan in front of her face, hiding her scowl.
Shocked, Arabella said, "Well of course it is up to me! Is that not what has always happened? Many a young man has married an heiress he was not fond of just to 'repair the family fortune,' as you said it."
"And what about love? What about finding that one man who makes your heart pound and your palms damp? You should not seek a fat purse at the expense of your young life!"
Arabella's mind immediately flew to Westhaven and how his mere presence sent her senses reeling. She shook her head. She must teach herself not to think like that. It would hardly be fair to her future husband if she did, and it was certainly not seemly in a maiden to think of his square shoulders and muscular body and—She turned her mind away from such thoughts. "I am surprised at you, Eveleen. I had thought you did not even like men, and here you are speaking of love like some green girl, dewy-eyed and in her first Season." Her voice sounded acid, even to her own ears. Love was for other women, not for her. She had never felt it for any man, and doubted she would at three-and-twenty if she had not as a susceptible girl.
"I do not dislike men, quite the contrary. I just do not think there are that many good ones out there. But have you never seen an example of love, my dear?" Eveleen's voice had gone from fierce to gentle, so soft it was almost drowned out by the increasing noise of the crowd and the sound of the orchestra tuning up in the gallery above them.
But she heard her. Yes, Arabella thought. She had seen true love, quite literally. Her cousin, Truelove Becket, had found the real thing with Lord Drake, the man she, Arabella, was supposed to marry. She could not understand it herself. Drake was good-looking, certainly, with the kind of "golden god" looks that women swooned over, but when Truelove fell in love with him he was also crippled from the war and suffering through a period of mental turmoil, nightmares so horrific he screamed the house down most nights. Arabella had been appalled and frightened, but True had fallen in love with him despite his problems.
Such self-sacrifice was not for her, though. She was far too practical to fall for mere manly good looks, though to be fair True had fallen in love with her husband's character, she claimed, not his tide or his looks. That was Truelove, though, not her. She needed a more pragmatic reason to give up the single state. She needed cold, hard cash, a title, and land. Love would not pay off her mother's debts, nor keep her in the style in which she preferred to live.
She frowned at her friend. "Of course I know that true love does exist. I suppose I am only surprised that you would believe in it, Eve. You seemed so cynical the other night, about affairs between men and women."
"Not cynical, my dear, but I do think that society has warped relations between men and women. I acknowledge the need for a degree of financial comfort, but society has made that into the way we separate the worthy from the unworthy."
"How can that be, that this is wrong? Have we not created society? It is a reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of both sexes, is it not? We need men's protection. We need their income to support us, and they need . . . they need our, well, our children."
"Why do we need their protection?"
"Well, other men—"
"Exactly! Society has dictated that an unwed woman is in need of protection from other men! Is that not deplorable?" Eveleen's eyes were dark with anger. "Why is it that a woman alone is seen as suitable prey for men's depredations? That we
There was a fierceness in her friend’s voice. Startled,she gazed into Eve's blue eyes and said, "What. . . what do you mean?"
"I mean, why is it up to you to repair the family fortune when it was not you who lost it but your parents? Does it not seem unfair to you? How can you go like a lamb to the slaughter?" Eveleen waved a fan in front of her face, hiding her scowl.
Shocked, Arabella said, "Well of course it is up to me! Is that not what has always happened? Many a young man has married an heiress he was not fond of just to 'repair the family fortune,' as you said it."
"And what about love? What about finding that one man who makes your heart pound and your palms damp? You should not seek a fat purse at the expense of your young life!"
Arabella's mind immediately flew to Westhaven and how his mere presence sent her senses reeling. She shook her head. She must teach herself not to think like that. It would hardly be fair to her future husband if she did, and it was certainly not seemly in a maiden to think of his square shoulders and muscular body and—She turned her mind away from such thoughts. "I am surprised at you, Eveleen. I had thought you did not even like men, and here you are speaking of love like some green girl, dewy-eyed and in her first Season." Her voice sounded acid, even to her own ears. Love was for other women, not for her. She had never felt it for any man, and doubted she would at three-and-twenty if she had not as a susceptible girl.
"I do not dislike men, quite the contrary. I just do not think there are that many good ones out there. But have you never seen an example of love, my dear?" Eveleen's voice had gone from fierce to gentle, so soft it was almost drowned out by the increasing noise of the crowd and the sound of the orchestra tuning up in the gallery above them.
But she heard her. Yes, Arabella thought. She had seen true love, quite literally. Her cousin, Truelove Becket, had found the real thing with Lord Drake, the man she, Arabella, was supposed to marry. She could not understand it herself. Drake was good-looking, certainly, with the kind of "golden god" looks that women swooned over, but when Truelove fell in love with him he was also crippled from the war and suffering through a period of mental turmoil, nightmares so horrific he screamed the house down most nights. Arabella had been appalled and frightened, but True had fallen in love with him despite his problems.
Such self-sacrifice was not for her, though. She was far too practical to fall for mere manly good looks, though to be fair True had fallen in love with her husband's character, she claimed, not his tide or his looks. That was Truelove, though, not her. She needed a more pragmatic reason to give up the single state. She needed cold, hard cash, a title, and land. Love would not pay off her mother's debts, nor keep her in the style in which she preferred to live.
She frowned at her friend. "Of course I know that true love does exist. I suppose I am only surprised that you would believe in it, Eve. You seemed so cynical the other night, about affairs between men and women."
"Not cynical, my dear, but I do think that society has warped relations between men and women. I acknowledge the need for a degree of financial comfort, but society has made that into the way we separate the worthy from the unworthy."
"How can that be, that this is wrong? Have we not created society? It is a reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of both sexes, is it not? We need men's protection. We need their income to support us, and they need . . . they need our, well, our children."
"Why do we need their protection?"
"Well, other men—"
"Exactly! Society has dictated that an unwed woman is in need of protection from other men! Is that not deplorable?" Eveleen's eyes were dark with anger. "Why is it that a woman alone is seen as suitable prey for men's depredations? That we
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